


Versatility: Lesson of the Heart

by MilleniaOfFossilRecords



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, black paladin lance, drabblechap challenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2018-09-26 18:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9914393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilleniaOfFossilRecords/pseuds/MilleniaOfFossilRecords
Summary: OhI will beI will beSilence will not cover meI will beI will be-I Will Be, Florence & the Machine





	1. Chapter 1

Two Earth days and a half and counting, that's how long everyone's been awake ever since they defeated Zarkon.

Ever since Shiro just up and vanished.

Everyone working hard to figure out what happened to him, how he could just vanish like that, to where, and how to get him back.

It doesn't help that the Black Lion all but threw them all out and put it's particle barrier up and hadn't let it down since, much to the displeasure of Keith and princess Allura.

Tensions were high to say the least, and Lance has no idea how to get everyone to take a much needed break. As it is he's barely managed to keep them all fed, including Keith who wasn't with the 'science division' in the control room and mostly has been camping out in front of the Black Lion trying to get her to lower the particle barrier to no avail.

Lance didn't have much to offer in either department, as mush as it pained him to admit it (even Kolivan's fellow Marmora member who ended up hurt during the fight with Zarkon was more useful to everyone trying to figure out where Shiro had disappeared to). But just because there's nothing he can personally do to help everyone find Shiro doesn't mean that he's gonna sit by and do nothing as everyone's health keeps diving down.

It takes him just some minutes to find the Altean equivalent of pots and pans in the castle's kitchen but once he's got them he's a man on a mission.

And that mission is to make sure everyone goes the fuck to sleep or else.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...This was supposed to be like 500 words tops, for the whole drabble long chapters challenge.
> 
> ...pls don't get used to this bc i'd hate to disappoint you all when the next chapter is like 300 words.
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy!

When Lance enters the control room no one raises their heads or even glances his way. As expected, really. He doesn't think they'd even notice the alarms going off, the way they're all huddled, sitting together and talking, sometimes one over the other or all at once. He walks towards them, hands tightening on the handles of the kitchenware he found.  
  
He listens in as he gets closer and abruptly stops.  
  
Slav's- he's going over a theory about where Shiro might've ended up with. Fine, they've all been doing that for the past few days. Nothing new there. The problem, however, is that he's already gone over this theory.  
  
Thrice now.  
  
The first time he'd given his theory was hours after they found the Black Lion empty, and by Slav's own admission, it was the most far-fetched theory he could come up with. He'd been there when they'd all agreed that it was no good (Pidge called it outright stupid).  
  
In fact, the very thing that told Lance that everyone needed to finally sleep was the fact that Slav had repeated said theory again hours ago, and Pidge and Coran, the first ones to shoot down said theory the first time, were nodding along. Hunk's rubbing at his eyes, Kolivan nodding off (Antok doing the same while standing), even Allura blinking her eyes rapidly like she was trying to keep them open only further proved his thoughts. Everyone was on the verge of crashing.  
  
Right now, Hunk has his arms resting on the make-shift table Allura pulled out from her usual place in the control room. He's got his head resting on one hand and Lance can see how he's got one eye closed. Pidge- Pidge is probably already asleep what with the way their head is down and glasses are falling off. Allura's rubbing at her eyes. Coran's moving his jaw around like he's got a weird kink to work out. Kolivan's got his eyes on Slav, while Antok stands rigidly behind him.  
  
Slav- Slav's still talking and he'd seem find if not for the fact that he's only got one arm moving and the others are just simply hanging, as if he doesn't even have the energy to cross them anymore.  
  
He's almost angry at all of them. Some of the brightest minds he's ever met and they can't tell that they need a break?  
  
But worry outweighs anger. He's got to get them to bed. Or maybe the pods at this point or-  
  
No, you know what he's equally worried and angry.  
  
With that in mind, he grips his chosen pot and pan as tight as he can and crashes them together, hard.  
  
(They're surprisingly loud, shocking even Lance.)  
  
Pidge jumps up at the sound and promptly falls backwards out of their chair. Kolivan jumps out of his so fast that he crashes into Antok and causes the other to fall. Hunk's face falls into the table with a thunk before he's suddenly sitting up. Coran- does something with his jaw that pops incredibly loudly, and freaky, before groaning and rubbing at his face as if in pain.   
  
Slav and Allura are the worst.  
  
Slav panics, jumps onto the table with no direction in mind, body moving in all sorts of ways (one of his arms manages to push Hunk out of his seat) until he almost crashes into Allura who promptly, or instinctively most likely, lashes out and punches him across the face. Allura, who doesn't seem to realize she just punched poor Slav in the face and is in fact trying to get out of her seat and swaying while calling out for the paladin to _form Voltron_.  
  
He almost can't believe it.  
  
He crashes the kitchenware together again and again. "Alright people, listen up!!" He shouts when they finally notice him, all looking at him with varying degrees of confusion and annoyance. It's fine. They'll thank him later. Or not. That doesn't really matter right now.   
  
"Lance! What is the meaning of this!?" Allura shouts at him. Hunk mouths ' _dude, what._ ' at him. Pidge is glaring at him and rubbing at her head.  
  
"You're all going to bed that's the meaning of this," he says, putting his hands, fists holding the handles of the kitchenware, on his waist trying to call forth all the possible disappointed parent aura he has within him. He's a middle child not the eldest, but he does have little siblings. He should have some of that 'I know what's good for you right now so you better listen up' vibes within him. At the very least an iota of it.  
  
Allura bristles at him. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
Any other day and Lance would back down. Allura can get quite scary when she wants to be, and as probably her least favorite (he's self aware enough thank you very much) he really shouldn't be pissing her off.  
  
Today is not a day he's going to back down.  
  
"You heard me. You're all going to bed or so help me I'll figure out a way to get the castle to blast out my voice screaming at you all to go to bed for hours, don't tempt me."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, this is not the time for games Lance!" Pidge calls out. "We've got to find Shiro-"  
  
"I know that!" he shouts. Louder than he meant to. He'll apologize later. "And we will! But right now you all need to rest, every last one of you, Keith too and I'll go scream at him next, but right now you guys are the priority!"   
  
"The Galra Empire will not give up," Kolivan says as if he needs to be reminded of that fact. "Finding your missing paladin and getting in touch with the resistance is a priority."  
  
Lance shakes his head. "You've all been up for days with no sleep and barely any food, I should know I'm the one who's been trying to get you all to eat!!" He huffs, continuing before Allura can interrupt him. "If anyone can find Shiro it's you guys I know that, guess what, I'm not actually an idiot, but the way you're all going none of you are of any help to him!!"  
  
"I don't see you helping any!" Pidge screams back, and almost falls, hands flying at her head and groaning.  
  
Lance shoves his worry down, and throws them all an unimpressed stare, raised brow and everything (his aunt Emily would be proud of how well he's imitating her right now). He sighs. "I know that. I _know_ that," he repeats making sure they're all paying attention before continuing. "This is all I can do, trying to keep you guys ok. Keyword _trying_ because none of you listen. Right now, I'm the only one who has probably gotten any sleep and very little at that. For crying out loud Pidge, you were asleep when I came in!!"  
  
Pidge, to their credit, looks chastised at that.  
  
"You're all dead on your feet, literally right now. Wait that's not how you use that word- Anyway! And you know what else?? Each and every single one of you is just throwing ideas right now and none of them are even being processed by your heads."  
  
"A lil' harsh there, dude," Hunk cuts in, "we don't have anything to go with here. No real starting point."  
  
Lance shakes his head. "I know, that's my point. I just heard Slav, for the third time now by the way, go over his theory of Shiro falling through the cracks on the universe at the same time that in paralleling universes in the exact same corresponding places in space had not only a supernova going off, a black hole swallowing down a planet made of diamonds, and, what was the last one? Ah, yes, a freaking soap bubble bursting. All down to the very same fraction of a tick, and with no clear answer of where he might've ended up anyway," he finishes, out of breath. "And let me just say, I'm good at physics, good ol' regular boring physics not theoretical physics and even I know that's quiznak. I mean biology's more my thing really, so maybe I'm just the idiot here but considering you'd already shut that theory down the very first time he said it, you'll will have to excuse me if I call you out on your _bullshit_." (Oh, that finishing touch was really therapeutic, no wonder his uncle Jorge curses open up a storm.)  
  
Everyone stares at him, wide eyed.   
  
"He's right," Hunk says, out of breath from how he'd been holding it in during Lance's rant. "I- I remember- oh jeez and none of us noticed-"  
  
" _Fuck_ ," Pidge mutters.  
  
"Oh dear," Coran says, voice hoarse.   
  
Allura and the Galra just quietly stare at him.  
  
Slav- the poor guy looks heart broken and Lance feels like an ass. "I was just- I was-"  
  
Lance sighs. "Look I'm not saying its anyone's fault or whatever, it's no ones fault ok. You guys are working so hard you just lost track of time and look, guys," he says motioning to Hunk and Pidge when he remembers something, "you know the Garrison's graduating exam right? The optional one I mean."  
  
They're confused for a tick before nodding at him. "No one ever passes that pain the ass," Pidge points out.  
  
The others looks confused. Hunk takes mercy on them.  
  
"It's not so much an exam as it is a game of sorts, you don't have to do it to actually graduate but lots of people do and have since the Garrison was established to- well, prove a point. You need a crew first of all, before you can partake in it. The exam is this: the Garrison will give your crew a theoretical situation that you and your crew must solve in the time given, usually about the same as one varga, get me?" he continues when the others nods. "Now each exam is very different per crew. Sometimes you have to figure out how to save a crew member who got trapped into the pull of a black hole while your ship is dealing with say engine malfunctions. Sometimes you gotta deal with your crew coming down with a disease you are only given the very and I mean very basics of the virus and how it functions and have to create a vaccine before your crew kicks it and you along with them. Sometimes it's totally stuff from like old school scifi, like how to escape a giant green hand in space."  
  
The others stare blankly at that. Hunk shrugs.   
  
"Point is," Lance starts, bringing the attention back to him. "That they always fail. I mean there's been like two cases of crews actually beating it, but the Garrison has almost a century of history to it so." He shrugs too. "But aside from the ridiculous stuff from old school scifi, a lot of those situations _can_ be solved, and a lot of times crews will go back to the Garrisson with their results. Maybe it took them a day to solve their crew's exam, maybe a year or maybe ten, but they have solved them after they had time to think, and when they weren't working on a time limit or being super pressured. Having those results from the crews who try to solve their exams even after the time limit always give us answers to prepare the next crew should any of those situations ever come to happen in real life. And mind you, they're all usually one varga, sometimes less."  
  
"We're also on a bit of a time limit, my boy," Coran points out.   
  
Lance nods at that. "Trust me I know, but if you guys all fall really sick because you were desperately trying to find Shiro? I- I think he'd hate that. Maybe you've already come to an idea that could actually find him, and maybe you don't realize it because you're pushing all your pretty little brains to their limit. All I'm trying to say is this: Rest. Go get some sleep, I'm not saying sleep for three days, though like your body might really try for that at this point. Just sleep and eat when you wake up and get the ball going again. Who knows, one of you might wake up with a breakthrough."  
  
There, he said it. He can only hope they'll listen.   
  
"We've-" Allura starts. "We've worried you, haven't we?"  
  
Lance, he doesn't say anything. He evades everyone gaze, all suddenly heavy on him.  
  
Allura, the kind soul she is, takes pity on him and changes the conversation then, Lance sighs with relief. Now they just need to figure out who can keep an eye out for possible Galra attacks.  
  
"I'll stay here, princess," Coran says with a tired smile. "I'll make some of my famous Rexenill cocktail and keep watch in case anything happens."  
  
"I can stay with Blue just in case we need someone in the field fast," Lance cuts in.  
  
"Are you sure?" Allura asks. "You should rest too, Lance."  
  
"Nah, don't worry about me, I've been taken naps here and there. You guys all need the rest."  
  
"You sure, man?" Hunk asks, looking at him, his eyes on Lance's eye bags.   
  
"Psh, positive."  
  
Allura nods. "Very well then. I'll lead you to your rooms then," she mentions to Kolivan and Antok.  
  
"I can do that, princess," Coran says.   
  
Allura shakes her head. "No need, I can do this much. I'll bring you a blanket shortly, Coran don't worry."  
  
Lance coughs. "Uh actually," he says walking towards his station, putting the kitchenware down and pulling out his blanket and pillow from behind his seat.  
  
Everyone stares at him.  
  
Lance shrugs. "I did say I'd been taking some naps. Here, Coran, use this," he says handing them to Coran. The other smiles and pats his shoulder.  
  
"Thank you, Lance my boy."  
  
"Dont worry about it. Now!" he starts, all dramatic flare, "I got a Mulletman to get into bed."

Pidge snorts.

"What wha- Oh, not like _that_ , Pidge," he frowns at them.

"Sure, Lance," they yawn out.

His frown deepens at them as they pass him by.

Hunk laughs as he passes him by too. "Make sure you get some rest if you can, dude."

"You got it."

Kolivan and Antok walk out with Allura. Coran takes the kitchenware from his seat.

"And I'll be taking this back! Would you like a cup of my famous Rexenill, my boy?" He asks Lance as they walk out.

"Nah, I'm good thanks. Oh, and if that's anything like coffee do me a favor and never tell Keith about it, he's totally the university freshman who dumps Monsters into his coffee to function."

Coran blinks at him. "I understood nothing and somehow everything at once, I'll keep that in mind then. Carry on, Lance."

"You got it," and for the first time in the last few days, he smiles and means it.


	3. Chapter 3

Lance thinks, expects really, that he'll find Keith sitting in front of the Black Lion, furrowed brows and hard eyes staring at the mechanical giant cat's face. The very picture of creepy staring contests until the other party relents and gives in (why Keith thinks he's gonna beat a sentient giant robot older than human civilization in it's entirety, _probably_ , Lance doesn't know).    
  
So he's surprised and a little amused when he enters the Black Lion's hangar to see Keith leaning into Black's particle barrier at a 45 degree angle, eyes closed and forehead pressed into the barrier with his arms hanging limply at his sides. If it weren't for his boots being firmly on the ground he'd absolutely end up face first on the floor. The single pillow that Keith brought with him earlier when he'd announced he'd be camping out in front of the Black Lion lays a few feet behind him, forgotten, along with multiple (most likely) empty packets of food goo and their equivalent of Altean orange juice.  
  
"Keith," Lance calls out, wondering if Keith somehow managed to fall asleep on his feet.  
  
Keith groans back, the sound ranging between a dying man and a poor foolish university freshman who took more classes than they should have on their first semester and had stayed up three consecutive days studying for all the finals they had to take in the span of 24 hours. So, misery and exhaustion all in one. Lance's prior assumption, Keith being dead on his feet, becoming all the more likely.    
  
"You alive there?" Lance jokes when he gets close enough to be at arms distance from Keith. The other hasn't so much as twitched.  
  
"Mm."  
  
Lance raises a brow.  
  
"Okay, time for bed dude," he says reaching for Keith's shoulder. Keith- tries to smack his hand away, Lance thinks, by the way his arm seemed to rise up halfway, with obvious effort, before promptly falling back into it's old position. Lance grabs his shoulder and squeezes gently.  
  
"C'mon, Keith."  
  
Keith opens his eyes and turns his way, not bothering to take a step back from the particle barrier. His cheek smushes against the barrier making one of his eyes squint at Lance.  
  
Lance wishes he had a camera with him, or that his phone's battery hadn't died out weeks ago. Knowing Keith though, he'd suddenly use some ninja skills just to keep Lance from recording him anyway. It wouldn't surprise Lance in the least.  
  
"No," Keith says, and it shocks Lance a little, how hoarse Keith sounds.  
  
"Hey, you okay?" Lance asks. "You need a drink or something?"  
  
Keith's face scrunches up (and _no_ \- it doesn't remind Lance of his younger siblings or nieces when they get woken up from nap time, all grouchy and pouty and hilariously adorable-not at all) and pushes himself away from the particle barrier with shaky arms. Lance takes another step closer before he realizes it, ready to steady Keith just in case. Keith rubs his hands over his face, groaning like a tired old man before lowering them and then yawning really loudly. Just like a cat really, but Lance will never admit to that not even under threat of death.  
  
"'m _fine_ ," Keith says, clears his throat once, before turning to face Lance completely. "Just- been having some words with _this one_ ," he finishes, clearly annoyed and side eyeing the Black Lion.  
  
Lance blinks once. Twice.  
  
"Yeah, I'mma go out of a limb here but shouting at her isn't gonna get you on her good side."  
  
Keith bristles (just like a cat, and _what is up with that_ anyway, not all Galras they've come across even look like alien bipedal cats) and throws his hand up. "Well I wouldn't have to if she'd just open up!!" He shouts, voice cracking at the end and throwing him into a coughing fit.  
  
Lance rolls his eyes.  
  
Someone people just don't know their way around the ladies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was the smallest i could make this chapter w/out deleting it all together but i liked it too much to do that!! The next chapters are all smaller than this however so hopefully i can edit them and post them much faster.


End file.
